


Creature Comfort

by AppleSeeds



Series: Noah's Ark Zoo [3]
Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Aziraphale Loves Crowley (Good Omens), Caring Crowley (Good Omens), Comfort, Crowley Loves Aziraphale (Good Omens), Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt Aziraphale (Good Omens), M/M, Mentioned Gabriel (Good Omens), Protective Crowley (Good Omens), Sad Aziraphale (Good Omens), Snakes, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Zookeeper Crowley
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 17:34:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30042270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppleSeeds/pseuds/AppleSeeds
Summary: Aziraphale is devastated by what Gabriel said to him in his appraisal, but Crowley takes care of him and helps him to feel better.(Part 3 in the Noah's Ark Zoo series)
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: Noah's Ark Zoo [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2059875
Comments: 17
Kudos: 98





	Creature Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> Just some soft fluff I felt the need to write today, hope you enjoy it! <3
> 
> (Will make more sense if you've read the first two parts in the series - also fluff)

“Education four to keeper three.”

“Go ahead, Aziraphale.”

“Are you anywhere near the rainforest exhibit please, Crowley? There’s a visitor with a lot of detailed questions about the alligators.”

“Yeah, I’m not far away, I’ll be there in a few minutes. Keeper three out.”

Aziraphale released the tight grip he had on his radio, re-clipping it to the waistband of his trousers. He inhaled deeply, retreating to a corner of the rainforest exhibit that was rarely frequented by visitors, where one of the big, fluffy white-faced saki monkeys spent a lot of her time, probably enjoying the quiet too. She inspected Aziraphale curiously, probably expecting him to give her a monkey nut. Aziraphale managed a choked, “Sorry, Crystal,” then turned away from her, taking another deep breath to try to steady himself. It would be all right. Crowley would be with him soon.

_“Anytime you need me, just call on the radio and ask for me specifically. Just say one of the visitors has a reptile question you can’t answer. Wherever you are, I'll come to you.”_

Aziraphale had had a hell of a morning. He was due to start the public talks about the animals in thirty minutes and had no idea how he was going to hold it together. At least Crowley would be preparing the animal feed (he was still putting his name down for food prep when Aziraphale was down to do the talks, and if anyone had noticed, they hadn’t said anything), but Aziraphale couldn’t wait that long before talking to him. Fortunately, there were only a couple of visitors in the rainforest exhibit at the moment. It was far away from the main entrance, so Aziraphale had learnt long ago that it was a good place to hide when necessary during the morning.

Aziraphale heard the door to the exhibit open and squeezed his eyes closed, praying it would be Crowley, and felt a rush of relief when he realised that it was. Aziraphale recognised Crowley’s footsteps, and could tell that he was rushing to get to him. Crowley rounded the corner and held his arms out towards Aziraphale.

“Hey, you ok?”

As soon as Aziraphale saw Crowley, the facade he had constructed to keep himself from bursting into tears in front of any colleagues or zoo visitors collapsed, and the tears began to flow freely. Crowley enveloped him in his arms and pulled him close, holding him tightly and rubbing his hand up and down over his back.

“Shhh... it’s ok. I’m here. It’ll be ok.”

Crowley’s soothing words made Aziraphale cry even harder. He clutched at the fabric of Crowley’s polo shirt, which was gradually becoming damp with Aziraphale’s tears, and tried to compose himself enough to talk to Crowley. He knew that Crowley would be worrying about what had happened, and it wasn’t that bad really, was it? Most people would say he was overreacting. Thankfully, Crowley wasn’t most people.

“Angel, let’s go to the kitchen, yeah?”

Aziraphale withdrew from Crowley enough to nod, and Crowley put his arm around his waist, leading them along the boardwalk, past the alligator enclosure and the tropical fish pond, to the corner of the exhibit. Although it hindered his movements, Crowley didn’t remove his arm from Aziraphale as he pulled his keys out of his pocket and found the right one to unlock the door to the kitchen. He guided Aziraphale into the tiny space and closed the door behind them before encouraging Aziraphale to sit down on the stool in front of the counter.

“What happened?” Crowley asked softly, taking one of Aziraphale’s hands in both of his and stroking his thumbs across it.

“Gabriel.”

“You had your appraisal this morning, didn’t you?”

Aziraphale nodded, wiping his tears away with his free hand.

“He said we should get it done before the talks started,” Aziraphale explained, his voice rough, cracked and broken.

“What did he say?” Crowley’s own voice was tense, each word forced out as though it wasn’t what he _actually_ wanted to say. Aziraphale felt Crowley’s grip on his hands tighten, waves of protectiveness rolling off him. He could imagine the sorts of things Crowley _did_ want to say, and those unspoken words, and the fact that Crowley held them back so that he could listen to Aziraphale, infused his aching heart with tinges of warmth around the edges.

Aziraphale sucked in a lungful of air and let it all pour out.

“He said that I spend far too much time talking to individual visitors, that it’s a frivolous waste of time. He told me off for not trying to push all of the schoolteachers to pay for the most expensive education programmes when they phone up to book. He said there have been complaints from the Retail department about how much money I’ve been raising for the penguin conservation charities at my penguin talks; that each pound a visitor puts in my bucket is one less pound they spend in the shop! We’re _supposed_ to encourage donations, Crowley! We’re supposed to tell people about all the good work that charity does! But I suppose that’s all just for show, because Gabriel and the other managers don’t actually care! I was so proud of all the money I’d raised! I listed it on my _achievements_ for the year on my appraisal form! The whole thing was horrible. Gabriel didn’t have _anything_ good to say to me, Crowley! I love my job, and I actually thought I was good at it, but apparently he doesn’t think so.”

Crowley stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Aziraphale again. With Aziraphale sat on the stool, his head came to rest on Crowley’s chest, and he could hear Crowley’s heart thumping rapidly next to his ear.

“I am so sorry he spoke to you like that, Aziraphale. He’s an idiot, and you’re amazing at your job! You know that, right? You must know that?”

Aziraphale shook his head against Crowley’s chest.

“Look, we all know there are arseholes in senior management who seem to think the only reason we’re here is to make a profit, who see our obligations to conservation, education and research as a burden, but they’re wrong! _You_ know what really matters, you know why you do this job! Think of all the people you’ve inspired! I bet there isn’t a single person who’s listened to your orangutan talk who didn’t start examining the packaging of everything they buy for unsustainably-produced palm oil after! And the money you’ve raised at the penguin talks is amazing! I’ve heard the finance guys joking about how they always know when you’ve been on talks from how heavy the donation buckets are! The people you spend time talking to always really appreciate it; you’re a big part of the reason they have such a good day! Please believe me, angel. You’re so good at your job. Please don’t let an idiot like Gabriel ruin it for you.”

Aziraphale focused on the warmth of Crowley’s body against him, holding him as close as he could, his tears starting to subside. Crowley was right; he _knew_ Crowley was right. It didn’t matter how corrupt his superiors were, _Aziraphale_ knew what was the right thing to do and he would keep doing it until they forced him to stop. But it was still hard to have someone like Gabriel look you right in the eye, say, ‘Listen, sunshine,” and then proceed to criticise you for a full forty-five minutes.

“Thank you,” Aziraphale whispered into Crowley’s polo shirt. Crowley ran his hands through Aziraphale’s hair and then tilted his head up, encouraging him to look at him. “I have to start the talks soon. Do I look really bad? Can you tell I’ve been crying?”

“Shhh angel, it’s ok. I can do the talks.”

“Oh, Crowley, no, you can’t do that...”

“’Course I can. I’ve listened to you doing them millions of times; you’re very distracting but I do pay attention you know!” Crowley teased, and Aziraphale’s mouth twitched into a smile despite the heavy weight of anguish lodged in his chest. “I’d be doing the food prep and then hanging around to see you afterwards anyway, so it’s not going to get in the way of me doing anything else. I know I won’t be anywhere near half as eloquent as you, but I’ll manage _something_.”

“Crowley...”

“Please, angel. You deserve some quiet time to yourself after dealing with all that. I can call Tracy and see if the straw shed’s free. I’ll do it over the phone, not the radio. Please let me do this.”

Aziraphale let out a long, shaky breath. The thought of hiding away for a while was immensely appealing. His eyes pricked with tears again, but this time induced by Crowley’s love and kindness.

“Thank you, Crowley.”

“You can take Crystal a monkey nut, if you like? While I call Tracy?”

Aziraphale nodded, biting his lip to help suppress the new wave of tears that threatened to spill. His eyes were glazed, his cheeks hot, and an immense fatigue had settled in his limbs. Crowley stretched upwards to reach the tub of money nuts from the shelf above the counter, and even in his current state, Aziraphale didn’t miss the opportunity to let his eyes roam over the expanse of skin that was exposed above Crowley’s waistband as he did so. Crowley popped off the lid and reached inside, handing Aziraphale three monkey nuts.

“Three? Are you sure?”

“It’ll be fine, just don’t tell anyone, and make sure she knows not to get any ideas.”

Aziraphale chuckled, but it was a breathy, miserable-sounding thing. “I will.”

Crowley cupped Aziraphale’s jaw and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. Aziraphale smiled and quietly opened the door, all of his senses feeling a little fragile and easily overwhelmed. He stepped slowly along the boardwalk, his head hanging down, focusing on the monkey nuts in his hand. When he rounded the corner, Crystal was in her usual tree.

“Hello, my dear.”

The monkey immediately spotted what was in Aziraphale’s hand and climbed along the branch to get as close to him as possible. He held out the first nut and she gripped it between her hands. Aziraphale watched as she retreated slightly to eat the nut, looking so completely thrilled by something so simple, and Aziraphale’s heart warmed even more. There were certainly people who perpetuated anguish and darkness in this world, but amongst all of that, there was still a lot of light.

The monkey studied Aziraphale curiously. More than one treat at a time from the same person was a rare occurrence but not unheard of. He found himself smiling as Crystal tentatively reached out, hope sparkling in her bright, chocolate-coloured eyes. Aziraphale handed her the second nut, and once she’d finished with that one, the third. Then he heard Crowley’s footsteps and felt his arms wrap around his waist from behind, his head resting on Aziraphale’s shoulder.

“Tracy says the straw shed is yours for three hours, and she’s happy for me to do the talks.”

“What if Gabriel finds out?”

“He won’t.”

Aziraphale turned around in Crowley’s arms. He listened for a couple of seconds just to make sure there were no visitors nearby and then gave Crowley a quick kiss.

“Thank you so much.”

“Anytime, angel. Come on, your luxury accommodation awaits.”

Aziraphale hadn’t actually been in the straw shed since... well, since the time Crowley had shown it to him, and they’d kissed for the first, second and third time (and quite a few more times, in fact). Some of the tension left Aziraphale’s body as he fondly recalled the events of that day.

Crowley started moving bales of straw around – it seemed as though he were constructing a mattress of sorts for Aziraphale to rest on, and Aziraphale hung back by the door, enjoying watching Crowley work, the strong muscles in his arms flexing as he lifted each bale. Once he was satisfied with the straw, Crowley pulled the lid off the black plastic bin in the corner of the shed and pulled out a blanket and pillow, which he settled on top of his makeshift mattress. He then beckoned Aziraphale over to join him.

“I’d better go and get the food ready for the first talk. Get some rest, ok? I’ll come back and see you at lunchtime.”

“Thank you so much, Crowley.”

Aziraphale hugged him tightly, resting his head against Crowley’s shoulder, and they stayed like that for perhaps a minute before Aziraphale reluctantly pulled back.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Crowley blew him a kiss from the door and then he was gone, leaving Aziraphale with nothing but his own thoughts for company.

_Why didn’t I stand up to Gabriel?_

_I did! Well, I tried, he wouldn’t listen._

_Stop thinking about this, it won’t help. Think about Crowley._

And Aziraphale did. He thought about how it had felt when Crowley had recognised that he needed him and rushed to his rescue. How Crowley had held him and comforted him and said all the right things. How he had protected him, and found him a safe place to hide to recover. He’d never said, ‘you should have told Gabriel...’, he’d just listened and offered reassurance. Aziraphale’s heart felt about ready to burst with love.

He lay down on the straw mattress Crowley had constructed, resting his head on the pillow and drawing the blanket up around him. He was exhausted, and, unsurprisingly, surrounded by the distant sounds of people and animals, Aziraphale fell asleep.

“Wake up, angel.”

Aziraphale’s awareness returned to him piece by piece, starting with the low, soft murmur of Crowley’s voice, then the spiky bits of straw sticking into his side where his T-shirt had ridden up a bit, and then the warm brush of Crowley’s lips against his cheek. Aziraphale sighed contentedly. His eyes fluttered open and he gave Crowley a beaming smile.

“Hello, my dear.”

“Feeling better?”

Aziraphale took a deep breath and found his chest was feeling a little lighter, but there was still a pang of hurt when he recalled what had upset him in the first place. He didn’t feel so tired, although there was the fuzziness that always accompanied waking from a nap in the middle of the day, and the lingering sadness that permeated his body.

“A bit,” he settled on as a response as he dragged himself up to sit on the edge of the straw mattress next to Crowley. Crowley put his arm around him and gently stroked his hand up and down his side. “How were the talks?”

“Yeeeah, ok. Not as good as yours, but I don’t think I forgot anything important. It’s not busy today, anyway.”

“I wish I could have heard them.”

“Maybe some other time,” Crowley said with a smile. “Anyway, sorry to wake you up, but it’s lunchtime, and I brought a few things that I thought might help you to feel a bit better.”

“Oh?”

“Firstly, the Ark Galley’s finest - cheesy chips.” Crowley handed over a compostable takeaway container decorated with cartoons of tigers, elephants and lions. “The finest in haute cuisine.”

Aziraphale opened the lid, and the smell of the cheese gradually melting on top of the hot chips made his mouth water. He hadn’t realised how hungry he actually was.

“I also got you a piece of cake and a cup of tea for after.”

Aziraphale licked his lips, his eyes stinging again as the tears threatened to resurface. Ever perceptive, Crowley apparently noticed.

“It’s ok, angel. It’ll be ok.”

“Oh, I know, I’m fine. It’s not that, it’s just... you’re so wonderful. I love you so much.”

“Aww, angel, it’s ok. I love you too.” Crowley pressed a soft, lingering kiss to Aziraphale’s cheek, and Aziraphale closed his eyes, savouring and absorbing this moment of being the recipient of so much love and care. Despite the persistent ache in his chest, he couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so fortunate.

They sat quietly for a little while, Aziraphale eating his chips and Crowley stealing one occasionally, and once he’d finished, Crowley produced a second box containing a piece of chocolate cake, and the cup of tea.

“You make me really happy,” Aziraphale murmured softly as he accepted them.

“That’s all I want, angel.”

Crowley stroked Aziraphale’s back while he quietly ate his cake and sipped his tea, regaling him with stories of what had happened during the talks: funny things the animals had been doing; silly questions he’d been asked by visitors; the alarm call the meerkat sentinels had screeched when a buzzard had flown over the zoo. In between bites of his cake, Aziraphale leaned his head against Crowley, and it felt as if they were encompassed by a bubble of love that existed just for the two of them.

_I think I’m going to love you forever._

As soon as Aziraphale finished his cake and tea, Crowley took the empty containers away from him. Crowley's eyes twinkled as he smiled at him.

“I have one more surprise for you. I brought someone with me who I thought might cheer you up.”

Crowley squeezed Aziraphale’s knee and got up from the straw, heading back towards the door and retrieving a large container that he’d concealed behind one of the stacks of straw bales. Aziraphale could just about make out the contents through the translucent plastic.

“Crawly?”

“Mmhmm.” 

Crowley set down the container next to Aziraphale and took off the lid. The royal python immediately slithered up Crowley’s arm, as always, and draped himself around his shoulders. The sight of the snake flicking his tongue out, smelling the unfamiliar space, lifted more of the heaviness from Aziraphale’s chest, and he reached out his hands towards Crowley. It was hard to believe that he had once been afraid of handling snakes.

“Come here, my dear.”

“That’s it, go on, Crawly, go to Aziraphale.”

Crawly was actually quite settled around Crowley’s shoulders, so Crowley scooped him up and draped him across Aziraphale’s hands. Crawly took his usual route, now climbing up Aziraphale’s arm, flicking his tongue against his cheek. It tickled, making Aziraphale laugh, and Crowley grinned in response.

_I love you so much. I want to tell you a million times every day how much I love you._

Once Crawly settled himself, Aziraphale gently stroked his fingertips along his scales, and Crowley sat back down beside him.

“Don’t forget you can invoke the ‘bad day at work clause’ tonight.”

“Oh! You’re right!” Aziraphale beamed at him, making Crowley laugh again.

“So, what’s it to be? I can make crepes? Or we can go out if you want?”

“Sushi?”

“Of course, if that’s what you want.”

Aziraphale nodded, and Crowley kissed him, which prompted Crawly to start slithering around again.

“Don’t be jealous, sweetheart,” Crowley chided softly as he scooped up the snake. “I’ll put him back in the box, it’s not as warm in here as he’s used to. I brought one of the battery-powered heat mats.”

“Thank you for letting me see him, that was a really lovely surprise.”

“Anytime.”

Crowley returned Crawly safely to the carry container and then came back to sit with Aziraphale on the straw. He gently stroked his fingertips over Aziraphale’s nape and then his hairline, sending a thrill shiver down Aziraphale's spine, before leaning in to kiss him softly on the lips. Heat flooded Aziraphale’s body and he deepened the kiss, pulling Crowley closer to him and moaning softly against his mouth.

When they separated, Aziraphale’s whole body was tingling. Crowley looked at his fancy watch.

“We’ve got about ten minutes before we need to get ready for the next talk. Do you feel up to doing the rest of them today?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine. You’ll be there.”

“I absolutely will. So, since Crawly’s back in his box, how about _I_ wrap myself around you for a bit until we need to head out?”

“Yes please,” Aziraphale murmured quietly, remembering the first time Crowley had ever suggested such a thing. The way Crowley smiled at him seemed to indicate that he was remembering it too.

Crowley encouraged Aziraphale to lie back on the straw and then climbed up beside him, wrapping his arms around him and intertwining their legs, squeezing him like a python constricting its prey.

“This feels amazing. Can we do this more later?”

“Bad day at work clause, angel, we can do anything you want.”

Several thoughts went through Aziraphale’s mind then, including printing out a picture of Gabriel’s face and throwing darts at it, but Aziraphale didn’t actually want to look at Gabriel’s stupid face tonight, no matter how satisfying it might have been to throw things at him. He just wanted to put it all behind him and focus on what mattered. To focus on Crowley.

“Let’s go out for sushi, then have crepes when we get home, then curl up on the sofa like this. And then can we have a bath together before bed?”

“ _Absolutely_.”

“Maybe I could do some of those things I know you really like? I’d love that.”

Aziraphale felt Crowley’s ribs rise as he drew in a deep breath, making an approving sound before kissing the top of Aziraphale’s head.

“That sounds _amazing_. Good thing you’re doing the rest of the talks, I don’t think I’d be able to concentrate enough with that kind of image in my head.”

“Something to look forward to,” Aziraphale said with a smile, tilting his head up so that Crowley could kiss him on the lips again.

“Hey, Gabriel’s car is that stupidly big new silver Porsche, isn’t it?”

“Yes, although apparently that colour is called ‘ _platinum lavender_ ’. Why?” Aziraphale asked suspiciously, extricating himself a little from Crowley’s arms to prop himself up on his elbow.

“I just thought one day I might find myself standing next to it for a while with a bucket of fish and an umbrella, see if the seagulls might be encouraged to give it a nice new paint job.”

“Oh, you are so naughty!” Aziraphale giggled.

“You love it, right?”

“Of course. I love everything about you.”

“I love everything about you too.”

Aziraphale settled back down into Crowley’s arms, enjoying the last few moments of quiet before he’d have to go back outside and face other people. But when that time came, he would be facing the afternoon with a stomach full of tea, cake and cheesy chips, and a heart absolutely crammed full of love.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed the fluff! :-)
> 
> Tracy is head keeper and named the saki monkey Crystal. I'd like to think there's another one in the rainforest exhibit somewhere named Mr Scroggy.
> 
> I have a few more ideas for fics in this series so there will hopefully be more to come at some point!


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